The rise in the cost of oil has created an ever-increasing burden on world economies. Many people must drive on a daily basis for school, work, and other commitments. To minimize the fuel cost impact, there has recently been an increasing trend to purchase cars with higher fuel efficiency such as electric/gas hybrids. Furthermore, many people who buy hybrid cars do so not only for fuel efficiency, but they are also concerned with the adverse environmental impact of cars with low fuel efficiency. Many studies link car emissions to the worldwide build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
One of the many technological advances that have benefited from the popularity explosion in the hybrid car market has been precision instantaneous mileage displays. To assist the driver in achieving higher mileage, the instantaneous mileage display will show the fuel consumption rate from moment to moment.
Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite navigation systems have recently been another area of technological advance in vehicles. GPS navigation systems show the location of the car from moment to moment. Such systems also can keep a record of where the car has traveled.